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Last Minute Gift

Last Minute Gift review


unity's Last Minute Gift is very much just that: a Christmas present conceived at the last minute, but promptly delivered to the RPGMaker.net community from a prolific developer who demonstrates that she is well capable of boiling up a solid game within a really short time span. Indeed, this dodge-based game is a gem as unassumingly humble as its author. A short look at the developer's history reveals a stellar line-up of solid titles. She bears resemblance to past collaborator Red_Nova, both being relatively new to the spotlight, but nonetheless gaining rapid fanbases of respect for their games. This is due in part to their relentless consistency. I have yet to play a Red_Nova game or a unity game that I consider not to be lacking in quality.

In the context of her consistent catalogue, Last Minute Gift is somewhat of an oddball, eschewing traditional turn-based combat for dodge-based gameplay and employing an innovative four-world structure that is, structurally speaking, inspired. Despite its stated rushedness, the game is a polished, streamlined experience.

Story
A little girl named Lieve writes romantic stories on her PC. She's quite the workaholic; she writes for what seems like days on end. But Christmas is approaching, and she's forgotten to buy gifts for her friends. It's rush hour at the mall, so she decides to take a gamble: enter the Krampulian Abyss to see if she can grab some nice treats from the dungeon.

The dialogue is snappy, cute, and well-characterized. It's a sign that a skilled writer is at work: when characters are brought to to life with an economy of words that reveals their personality types and relationship dynamics, within a small conversation. It is doubly irritating that this is made to seem effortless. It is a sign of a true writer who is skilled at creating something believable and attachable.



Graphics/Audio
This game features lovingly hand-drawn maps. They are crafted skilfully from start to finish. This is one of the most visually imaginative games I've played. It's coupled with magical tracks that instill a sense of wonder and Christmas cheer.

Much of my admiration for this game lies in its colourful exuberance. All maps are sketched and painted as parallaxes, displaying simple routes and areas that enemies to and fro among. There is no combat - bump into a slime, you lose health and the villain explodes. This is a dodge game. Your goal is to gather all 11 gifts, collecting power ups in the form of health upgrades. Yellow spheres represent save points, and blue spheres have the added boon of healing you full up.

Gameplay
It is essential to acquire 10 gifts, but there are 12 gifts you can collect in total. The gameplay is based around dodging enemies - you can't attack, you only need to get to your destination. The entire dungeon is non-linear; this means you can tackle each challenge in any which order you'd like. With the addition of easy and hard modes, gameplay difficulty is as flexible as ever, so those who have trouble dodging enemies and moving objects in games, this game is also for you
Enemies have pre-ordained paths that give you a reliable cycle of new challenges to overcome.

One thing that is so prevalent in RPG Maker games is the lack of challenging yet fair gameplay. The gameplay in Last Minute Gift is challenging and fair, which is a rare thing. It never wastes any of your time with long pauses. The speed at which you progress is always up to you, and even the direction in which you progress is largely up to your fancy as well.

The pacing of this game is relentless, quick and responsive. The intro cutscene is brief yet informative, and makes you care about the characters. The game is dodge-based, but it also varies up the exploration quite a bit. At the end of long dungeons, there is a teleport that will bring you back to the start, to minimize backtracking. The non-linear design of the caves is made up of 4 zones. Each of these zones is connected, so you can explore in and throughout.

After a short practice level, you can choose between 4 worlds: candy-cane, bell, tree and snowman. Each realm suffers its unique brand of enemies, with their own set of predictable move patterns, and with their own set of challenges. Candy Cane Land looks more like a blood-spattered white wall complex with spikes, spiders, and a port to the nuts-and-boltsy Machine Hall. The surreal Light Hall has boundaries defined by the radius of a lamppost in pitch black darkness. There are zones that are locked by keys that you can gain in other areas, which serve as progress blockers. Apart from that, the player is free to roam as they please.

Overall
Last Minute Gift is short and unassuming, yet it's wholesomely rounded in each facet. Fast-paced relentless fun. Its charm is infectious. It is incredibly polished, and never wastes the player's time with unnecessary things.

That's my review of Last Minute Gift, a short, fun and polished game that delivers on all fronts. I give it a A- grade and a 4.5 stars out of 5.

Posts

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unity
You're magical to me.
12540
Thank you soooooo much for this review, Cash! ^_^ I'm over-the-moon happy that you enjoyed the game this much :DDDD
Glad to see this game got a better review. Despite it's short development time I could tell you put a lot of care and effort in. I hope Last Minute Gift gets more exposure I still stand by what I said before that its the best Christmas game I've ever played.
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